How I Make Pie Crust

I realized that I had never gotten around to putting my pie crust recipe on the blog and as Thanksgiving is coming, I thought this would be a good time to do that.

Earlier in the year I mentioned that I have a slightly different way of approaching a lot of recipes based on years of using a lot of medieval cookbooks. Spices and herbs mixed into these foods were health-promoting along with being tasty. Most culinary spices have a long history as traditional remedies, as well.

I don’t pretend that these are medicinal amounts of these foods, but it is good preventative practice to eat a wide variety of phytochemicals every day. Adding mustard powder to savory pie crust may help the body better utilize saturated fats. The spices in my sweet pie crust are known for promoting healthy blood glucose levels and improving digestion.

We make a lot of deep-dish pies, so this may be more dough than you need.  It will make two ten-inch crusts. You can always roll the dough out and cut it with cookie cutters.

For a savory pie:

1 cup cold unsalted butter
2 2/3 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mustard powder
7-8 tablespoons ice water

For a sweet pie

1 cup cold butter or coconut oil
2 2/3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons powder fine
2 teaspoons sugar
7-8 tablespoons ice water

Cut the fat and flour together with your pastry blender. Stir in the spices. Slowly stir water, one tablespoon at a time, in with a fork until the dough forms a ball in the center of your mixing bowl.